Do You Remember
by Hazel Rosen
Summary: A young queen wakes up in a dark alley with a beast of a headache and none of her past memories. When the Jellicles take her in, what will happen to this forgetful cat? Several pairings, mild OC pairings.
1. Of Migraines and of Manners

Hey there, guys. :3 I'm Zelda, otherwise known as Hazel Atera Rosen. So, this is my first chapter of my first fanfiction; don't underestimate the power of a good OC! Anyways, reviews are loved.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own CATS. If I did, Mistoffelees would be king and everyone would sing and dance and eat bananas.

--

I couldn't remember much, only that my head hurt so incredibly bad that I could hardly see straight when I opened my eyes. Oh, Everlasting Cat. So, where was I now?

I tried to sit up, cried out in pain and dizziness, and fell over again, though I managed not to hit my head on the hard ground of the dark alley. Props to me. So, the world spinning before my eyes, I just lay there a while and waited until the brain-splattering pain in my head cleared enough for me to actually think.

Okay, now that we're being reasonable, seriously. Where _was _I?

I couldn't remember ever being here before.

Then again, thinking a little harder, I couldn't remember anything at all. Not even what I looked like.

A little panicked, I scrambled onto all-fours, causing my head to lurch unhappily as I closed in towards a nearby broken-up mirror, leaned up against a mound of trash across the street, in front of a junkyard. Fabulous, mountains of garbage and stink to take my mind off things. That'd be really helpful. As if my head didn't hurt already.

Swiftly crossing the asphalt so as not to be squished by a car (I did remember cars were dangerous, you know), I padded up to the mirror and stood up on two legs, examining myself. A dark gray, ashy tabby cat, small enough to be mistaken for a kit but too wise in the face to be guessed otherwise. A young queen, staring back at me with sea-green eyes and a face that faded to white, followed by a similarly-colored chest and tail tip. Oh, yeah, my tail. It was long, really long, and kind of bushy, swishing subconsciously around my feet, which faded into silver. Okay, so now I knew what I looked like. Again, props to me. How very observant of me.

As I was about to start reflecting on other things I'd forgotten, I heard a voice off to my right and froze, instinctually fearful. "Hey, you! What're you doing around here?" The voice was wary, but not that angry, so I took a chance and turned my head to glance at who'd called me.

It was two toms; the one who had called out just now was black and white, all patched together like a haphazard, monochrome quilt. He seemed younger than the other, a stately silver tabby, who had that air of leadership around him as he whisked towards me. Well. If they were going to kill me, _he_ would be running, so I made the assumption they were okay cats and fully turned myself towards them.

The black and white tom stopped in front of me and looked down – remember I was kind of small for a new queen as I assumed I was--, so I decided to look back up, my eyes challenging. "I dunno," I responded. "What're _you _doing around here?"

"I live here, thanks for asking, kitten." He cocked a brow at my sharp tongue, and I smiled inwardly. So I was spunky. That was frankly awesome. More props to me for having a personality.

"I'm not a kitten, thanks for assuming, tomcat," I responded, but I took a step back, my eyes screaming attitude at him as the tabby came up beside him.

"What do we have here, Alonzo?" he asked. His voice was kind of paternal and reassuring, and I didn't even know the guy. Something about my thoughts this far told me I wasn't very trusting of new cats, so good for him.

"A wandering kit with an attitude," this Alonzo guy snapped, partially at me and partially at the striped, older cat.

"I'm not a kit, thanks again!" I half-shouted. "Alonzo? What kind of a name is that? What are you, freaking Austrian or something? Who names their kit Alonzo?" I was really starting to get fed up with this guy. Who did he think he was, Rumpus Cat?

"You wanna say that again?!" The black and white tom lunged forward, but the other one grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Come on, Munkustrap, lemme at her! She's just a rogue!"

Munkustrap. Sounded like Monkey Strap. Reminded me of a monkey wearing a belt or something.

I didn't realize I had said that last thought out loud until I caught them both giving me funny looks.

"And what might your name be, while we're on the topic of names?" asked Munkustrap calmly, apparently unfazed by how weird I thought his name was.

Name. Name. What was my name?

"Uh, um...my name is..." I had to think fast, they were already looking suspicious. I spouted out the first thing that came to mind. "Luvarium." Luvarium. What kind of a name was that?

"Luvarium?" Alonzo narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah. Better than your name, innit?" I stuck my tongue out at him, but he was calmer now.

"So, then, Luvarium," Munkustrap interjected. "Might I ask what you're doing around here?"

_C'mon, Lu, make something up. _Oh, Rumpus, I was already making up nicknames for a name that probably wasn't my real one. Should I just tell them I don't know? Well...I really shouldn't lie. Lying wasn't good. At that moment, I actually discovered I had a conscience.

"I know you're not gonna believe me," I said quickly, "but I kind of...don't...know."

Alonzo narrowed his eyes. "How can you not know what you're doing here?" he asked, now more curiosity in his voice than anger. "You mean you have amnesia?"

"What the hell is amnesia? No! I just, uh, forgot. About a lot of things." Like my name. And what I looked like. And where I came from.

"Well, it seems we have a memory loss case on our hands." Munkustrap was smiling, and I felt immediately grateful, even though I was about to spit a retort at him. I reconsidered and paused, then just looked him up and down a few times and shrugged. Strong, handsome...but I didn't think of him like that. He was too old for me. More a...fatherly figure sort. You know what I mean. But I said something like that already, didn't I?

"So, uh...what happens now?" I asked, looking curiously at the two toms, who looked at each other, seemed to discuss quietly via their eyes, and then looked back at me. "Okay, so that was major weirdness," I said airily, staring at them. "Does your kind always converse through looking at each other? Is it, like, a hobby or something?" Okay, so I was being a total butt-cheek. But one gets kinda pissed off when she wakes up with one beast of a headache to find she can't even remember her own name.

"Ah, no." Alonzo laughed halfheartedly. "We were, um, 'conversing' about taking you back to where we live. In the junkyard."

My immediate response was to wrinkle up my nose and say, "Ew, no," but I figured that if they could put up with it on a daily basis, I could put up with it for a day or two, until I figured out all the technical bits like...where exactly I lived. If I, like, lived somewhere. "Um, yeah, that'd be great, considering I don't have a place to sleep." I laughed, a little nervous at the prospect of coming back to where these two strong toms came from.

"In that case," Munkustrap said, smiling warmly at me, "come with us. I'm sure the other Jellicles would love to have you."

Jellicle. "WTF, mate?" moment much. "Uh, yeah." I scampered up to them as they turned and started walking back. "So, then, what's a Jellicle cat, exactly?"

And so we continued on for a good few minutes while the two toms, the older and the younger, spurted knowledge at me about Jellicle cats. They sang and danced and lived in tribes and each year there was a Jellicle Ball, and Munkustrap's father Old Deuteronomy would send a cat up to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn in a different life. All this I found very fascinating, but I wasn't sure if I could sing or dance, and whether or not I was "of age." When I mentioned this, Alonzo looked me over and said, "I think you're probably of age, or close to it," he meowed. He obviously meant this in a friendly way, but I couldn't help suddenly realizing I was self-conscious and blushing a little, looking down to hide it.

"Um, thanks," I mumbled, then looked back up. "Hey, uh, Alonzo."

"What?"

"Sorry about making fun of your name. It's a good name, really. I was just...pissed off. And I needed someone to yell at. You ever get times like those?"

Alonzo grinned. "All the time."

"Ha ha. Makes me happy to know I'm not the only one." I was starting to like this guy. Just as a friend, mind. But still. He wasn't all that bad. I still didn't trust him all that much, though.

Of course, Munkustrap had been watching us converse with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile, so I snapped my fingers. "Wipe that look off your face! What's so bad about getting to know a tom, eh, Monkey Strap?" I had a feeling he was probably too high-ranked for me to be calling him Monkey Strap, but he just laughed good-naturedly and brushed it off again. Apparently he was very tolerant of smartass young queens. Who knew.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Munkustrap seemed to drop the subject when faced with the none-too-amused faces of Alonzo and me.


	2. Of Tours and of Pedophiles

Hey. It's me again, with chapter 2. I hope you guys aren't bored yet.

And if you're wondering, the romance thing is gonna tie in later. It'll come soon enough. Oh, by the way, since this'll probably get too long, it'll probably be a continuation. :3

**DISCLAIMER: **I'm only saying this one more time, and that's it. I don't own CATS, because if I did, Mistoffelees would be Supreme Jellicle Ruler and Pouncival would ride a llama around the junkyard for me. :3

--

"So, then. This is where we live." Munkustrap guided me into the junkyard, which, from a distance, just looked like what it was; a junkyard. But inside, I found it was teeming with life. Two young cats, maybe a little younger than me, a dark tabby and a pale one, scurried after each other, giggling. A handsome tom with a mane of well-groomed hair and a jacket with an enormous ruff was flirting with a scarlet queen while her black and gold friend looked on disapprovingly. A couple of young toms raced after each other, laughing and yelling, and a black cat with a white chest and face sat up on a heap of old trash parts talking with a white queen. All around there were things happening, all around cats living, breathing, talking, playing. It was amazing. Just amazing.

"Jellicles!" called Munkustrap, and his deep voice carried out over the 'yard, stopping most of the cats in their tracks. The kits that didn't were rounded up by a pair of older cats that looked like mates, a marmalade tabby and an older queen whose fur was covered in spots and stripes, all intermingled. Which was frankly cool.

Okay, so, here I was, a short little charcoal-gray tabby standing between two toms, both at least a head taller than me, and now surrounded by other cats who I didn't know, all of which were staring at me like I crawled out of a toaster or something.

"This," Munkustrap began, "is..."

I cut him off, introducing myself. "Luvarium. My name is Luvarium."

"What a pretty name!" whispered the pale grayish tabby to her dark companion, earning her a jab in the ribs. I couldn't help but smile; the latter caught my eye and offered a smile back, which really made me feel at home. Y'know?

"Luvarium has...ah..." He looked at me briefly, and in that moment I figured out how to do that cool eye-conversation thing. So I told him to tell them I was lost, got a concussion, and lost a few of my memories. A few. "Luvarium was in an unfortunate accident that gave her a concussion and took a few of her memories." I heard a young tom with a brown patch over his left eye mumble, "Cool!" and earn a swat from the elder cat behind him. The cat beside him, who I guessed was his brother due to the fact he had a similar patch on the other side of his face, snickered. "So," continued Munkustrap, "Alonzo and I offered to take her in for a while." He looked at me, and this time I couldn't read his thoughts, so I gave him a "What?" look. "Luvarium, can you sing or dance at all?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, I can sing okay, I guess, and I don't know any dances, so I'm pretty sure I'm not all that good, but..."

"Why don't you give us a show?" called the black tom I'd seen talking with the white queen. He was smiling in a friendly, if subdued manner, and I took a liking to him quickly. Apparently I was also a good judge of character.

"Y-yeah, sure," I muttered, then took a deep breath and started to sing. It was a brief tidbit of a lullaby I think – and I'm grasping at shadows here – my mother sang to me when I was a kit.

"_Hush now, little one_

_Sleep the morn away_

_The moon above calls you home_

_Sleep the golden day away_

_The sun above calls you away_

_Hush now, hush now, little princess_

_Don't you cry_

_Just sleep the morning light away_

_Beneath pale sunlight..."_

The bubbly pale tabby started applauding, and a nearby calico smiled, her eyes sparkling.

"Uh, th-thank you." I bowed shakily. "And, uh, I don't really know any dances, so I guess you'll have to teach me." I smiled, feeling rather on the spot as of now. "I don't think I'm very good..."

"We'll see about that," Munkustrap said reassuringly, putting a hand on my shoulder. Oh, Rumpus, juts get me out of here already, I hated having so many cats staring at me like they were expecting something.

But of course, it wasn't over.

"Allright, then. Electra." The dark brown tabby perked up and stepped forward. She was young, maybe my age or a little younger, but already taller than me. She smiled a friendly smile at me before turning her attention back to the silver tabby. "How about you and your friends show Luvarium around, have her get to know her new fellow Jellicles?"

I hated how he said that. It made it sound like I was going to stay here forever.

Which I so wasn't. Too many cats around. Not that I was a sociopath or anything, I just...no. I didn't like crowds.

"'Kay." Electra dipped her head to Munkustrap. "What about Old Deuteronomy?"

"Old who?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Old Deuteronomy is my father and the leader of the Jellicle tribe," explained Munkustrap. "I'm just the protector, and Alonzo is my second-in-command." He looked back at Electra, obviously still expecting an explanation. "Old Deuteronomy isn't feeling well today. We'll take her to see him later."

"Allright," agreed Electra, bobbing her head. "C'mon, Luva. I'll show you around. You've gotta meet my friends." She grabbed my paw and began half-dragging me towards a group of giggling young queens about the same age as her, though the white one, who looked a little older, seemed closer to my age.

Luva. My first nickname. Yay.

"Uh, yeah, sure." I forced a grin, nervous and uncomfortable amidst all these new cats. It was shocking enough to meet Munkustrap and Alonzo, but surrounded by all these new faces, I found out I was more than a little shy. Plus, I was basically living a lie, considering I hadn't _just gotten a concussion,_ and I was pretty sure my name wasn't Luvarium. Well. Pretty sure.

"Okay, so." Electra jolted me back to reality as we arrived at her little posse. "This is Etcetera," – she motioned to the pale tabby who had clapped for me earlier, who grinned widely at me and shook my paw emphatically – "and this is Jemima," – the calico I'd spotted, who gave me a kind smile and gently shook my paw – "and this is Victoria." The slightly older white cat gave me a soft, pleasant look as she was introduced.

"...hi," I managed, after a moment of hesitation. "I'm Luvarium."

"Yeah, we know." Jemima's smile didn't suggest she was trying to make me look bad with that comment, but I still blushed, feeling stupid.

"Oh...yeah."

"Okay, girls!" Electra bounced slightly. "I'm gonna take Luva to meet some other cats...like Tugger!" They all squealed and jumped up and down, but I just looked on in confusion.

"...Tugger?" I asked finally, tilting my head, with a confused look in my eye.

They all gasped.

"Only _the _Rum Tum Tugger!" Etcetera cried out, giddy with her fandom. "He's the sexiest tom ever!" The other queen-kits chorused their agreement, including Victoria, who I would've thought to be somewhat saner than the rest. Oh, well. First impressions die hard.

"Electra, you have to let us introduce her!" Jemima added, standing up and grabbing my other paw, yanking me along as Electra lost her grip on my other wrist.

"H-h-hey, Jemima, wait a second..." But the other queens were already hurrying towards the cat with the big hair and the huge coat fringe I'd seen earlier.

"Tugger! Tugger!" they all called, and he turned his head to look towards the group of queens running towards him. Immediately, he grinned like some sort of pedophile, and I shrunk back a little bit, only to lurch forward with a jerk from Jemima.

"Tugger, this is Luvarium!" Electra announced, motioning to me. He fixed his eyes on me and I shivered, unhappy with my situation.

"H-hi." I offered a slight wave, and I knew I looked embarrassed and bashful, the age my height suggested.

I nearly jerked out of Jemima's grip and ran when he flashed me a wide grin. "Hello, beautiful," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Where do you come from? The Heaviside Layer?"

Oh, sweet Everlasting Cat. I was definitely going to be sick.

"Ah, no," I muttered, and I hated how low my confidence sounded. I had been just fine with Alonzo, because he wasn't flirting with me, nor was he all up in my face like this. Speaking of which... "Could you excuse me?" I took a few steps back to get out of his way, pulled free of Jemima, and grabbed Electra's wrist, dragging her off to the side. "Okay, this was great and everything, but I'm not a big fan of pedos, 'kay?"

"Tugger is _not _a pedo!" Electra looked genuinely hurt.

"Okay, okay, that's fine, but could we move on, please and thank you? It's great that you like him and everything, but I don't."

"How could you not?" Oh, Rumpus. It was the kitten whimper.

"Electra, please, please just do this for me? I have an inferiority complex." That was a lie, but I wanted to get out of range of this...rock star child molester.

"Oh." That seemed to click into the tabby's brain. "I'm so sorry, Luva! I totally understand now. Tugger's just so amazing that..."

"Yeah, yeah, completely, he's just so..." I waved my hands in front of my face for emphasis. I felt like shit lying, but I'd tell her otherwise later if it really bugged me. "We can move on, then?"

"Yeah, sure." She brought me back over to Tugger, where the other queen-kits were fawning over him, curled up around his legs as he smiled and played along. "Hey, girls, let's keep going!" she called, then waved at the Maine Coon with a sly smile. "Bye, Tugger."

"Yeah, bye Tugger!" the others chorused, hurrying to catch up with Electra and me. They were all giggling like they were high on catnip.

It was sick. Just...sick.


	3. Macavity, Macavity

What's up? It's the third installment of Do You Remember. :3 A warning, this one has quite a bit of naughty language and violence, but I'm not willing to change the rating over one chapter. Just, you know, a warning and that. And I'm not repeating the disclaimer. You guys know I'm not T.S. Eliot or Andrew Lloyd Webber.

--

Four hours later, I was absolutely exhausted from being led around by Electra and her gang of ADD friends all day. So far, I'd met so many cats I was having trouble remembering them all, so I played a little matching game in my head with names and faces. Okay, the two black and ginger striped cats were Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, the marmalade tabby with a Scottish accent was Skimbleshanks and his mate was Jennyanydots, the scarlet queen was Bombalurina and her sister was the gold and black one, Demeter. Let's see...oh, there was Mr. Mistoffelees, the black cat with white markings. Okay, so, there was also Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, who were the two brothers with patches over their eyes, and Jellylorum kept the kits all in line, and Gus the Theatre Cat was her older mate, and there was Cassandra and Plato and Coricopat and Tantomile...oh, Rumpus, how was I going to remember all these cats?

Not to mention, I met Old Deuteronomy just before bed. He was a nice old cat with a resemblance to Munkustrap and the Rum Tum Tugger (who still freaked me out big-time), and despite the fact he had a cold or something, he greeted me warmly. Like a father would. Like I had lived there forever.

It made me feel very warm and fuzzy inside, which the wary and antisocial part of me almost rejected. Almost. But it didn't.

Which, in a way, scared me. I didn't want to live here.

But anyway, I didn't have much more time to think, because I was so tired I instinctively started falling asleep as soon as my head hit the clump of rags I was using as my pillow.

Well, it was better than the alleyway.

--

"Luva! Hey, Lu, get up!" I was awoken by a sharp prod in the side, but instead of opening my eyes I groaned and rolled over, unhappy at being wakened so early.

"Five more minutes," I slurred, putting my paws over my ears.

"Lu, seriously! It's Macavity!"

Oh, yeah. That rapist bad guy everybody lived in fear of. He could wait until I got another four hours of sleep.

"Luva, come on! He and Munkustrap are fighting! Munk's hurt..." My eyes sprung open.

"What...?" I still sounded sleepy as I rolled over to face my awakener, Electra. "What do we do...?"

"We have to drive him away. C'mon, we need your help, Lu." She jerked at my paw and I rolled out of bed, scurrying out of the den.

Immediately, I wished I hadn't.

The black and gold queen I recalled was named Demeter was fretting over the fallen Munkustrap, who was bleeding heavily. A ginger cat in the center of the clearing with a ruff of matted hair to rival the Rum Tum Tugger's was cackling maniacally as he faced off against Mistoffelees, lightning crackling from the black cat's paws. His face was determined, but, being as highly perceptive as I had discovered I was, I noticed he was shaking ever-so-slightly. Why? Macavity seemed like a bad cat and everything, but what could he do? Besides bleed Munkustrap like a pig. Oh. Well. That's a point to make.

As my paw fell on a stick, snapping it in half, his ear twitched, and he turned around to face me, his contorted features twisted even more with his maliciousness. I froze, unsure of what to do, ready to leap away lest he jump towards me. But he didn't. He just threw back his head and cackled again, eyeing me with a fiercely flaming gaze...then he began to step forward.

"So, Munkustrap," he hissed, voice full of hatred and animosity, "I see you've taken in another whore for your whorehouse." He glared at me, and I felt anger rise in my chest; whore? He was one to talk, the raping, kidnapping murderer.

"What did you say?" I spat back, my voice low, the fact that I'd spoken almost subconscious in my mind. "What did you call me, you damn Pollicle?"

"Luva, no!" I heard Electra whisper in fear, standing next to me.

"I called you a whore!" In a flash, he was right in front of me, staring down, one paw raised, claws out. Mistoffelees attempted to aim a lightning bolt at his back, the power writhing from his paws, but without hesitation, Macavity whipped around, and, with seemingly invisible force, threw the little black cat backwards with a furious hiss before turning back to me. "Don't you dare talk back to the Hidden Paw!" he snarled, and, raising his paw again, slapped me against the face, claws out. I staggered backwards as the hits continued like a hailstorm, always to my face, cripplingly hard, right where it hurt. "You bitch! You slut! You whore! I'll teach you to get smart with Macavity!"

There were tears in my eyes and my cheeks were on fire, my vision blurry, my body shaking. But I wouldn't fall. I'd die on my feet if I had to, but I wouldn't fall to this...this freak.

Despite that, I felt my brain jar, and my world began to spin as Macavity raised his enormous paw, soaked in blood – my blood – and ready to strike me the final blow, when suddenly...

SHZAP! The ginger cat screamed out in pain and whipped around to see Mistoffelees, back on his feet, breathing heavily, with blood leaking from a wound on his chest, staining the white fur crimson. "Luvarium!" he breathed. "Run!"

I shook my head slightly as Macavity advanced on my black and white savior. No. There was no way he was dying for me. I didn't care if I could barely walk straight or if I couldn't feel my face; this guy was going down.

With a loud war cry, I leapt in the air from behind, badly aimed from my dizziness (I probably had a concussion) but close enough so that I latched onto Macavity's strong, broad shoulders, sliding my arms around his neck and weakly clasping my paws together, yanking up. He bellowed, grabbing at me, and as loud as I could, I screamed to the Heaviside Layer, "Misto! NOW!"

The poor black cat had barely any time to think, but it seemed my shriek brought him back to his senses as energy crackled from his fingertips. Raising his paws, he shot a powerful strike of lightning at the enormous ginger cat's stomach, causing the Hidden Paw to roar in pain and fury and throw me over his head; I barely felt myself crash into the hard ground and skid to Misto's feet before my entire world turned black, pierced for the first few seconds only by screams; those, I assumed, of Macavity...and of myself.


	4. Conversations

Chapter four! :3 This is the last chapter I had pre-completed, but I have five just about done. So progress will be a little slower from now on, ne?

--

"Lu? Luvarium, are you awake?"

I slowly, painfully, opened my left eye, barely able to from all the swelling around it, and stared up at the group of worried young queens bent over me. Their names came hazily back to my foggy mind; Electra, Jemima, Etcetera, Victoria...and that older one must have been Jellylorum. I felt a wet rag on my face as I moaned, and, as if a signal I was alive, all four queen-kits perked up.

"Oh, thank the Everlasting Cat you're alive!" Jemima almost hugged me, but looked at my bruised and battered torso and seemed to think better of it, which I have to say I greatly appreciated.

As sleep left me, the first thing I felt was pain.

Holy shit, did my head hurt...and my body...and my insides. I hurt all over; I felt like I'd had a collision with a human train. "Can I go back to sleep now? It hurt less," I whimpered, closing my eye again. I felt gentle hands remove the scrap on my head and wet it again before placing it on my forehead again.

"But you can't yet, Luva, everybody wants to talk to you! You're a hero!" crowed Etcetera, a little too loud for my liking. Everything seemed like it had been magnified a hundred times.

"Keep your voice down, will ya? I have a bad enough headache already," I grumbled, but I opened my eyes again. "And I hardly did anything. Mistoffelees is the real hero. He saved my life."

"Yeah, but you saved his," Victoria pointed out, but she was smiling.

"Well, I guess we're even then." I tried to laugh, but it turned into a painful cough, so I swiftly stopped before my intestines came out my mouth. "You know where he is?"

"Here." The withdrawn black and white tom slipped in between two of the queens and smiled timidly down at me. I noticed the bandages around his torso and his arms, but I could only guess I looked worse. I'd barely survived that attack, after all; Misto was probably used to that kind of stuff. "You were incredibly brave."

"You're one to talk," I choked out, and hated how raspy and weak my voice sounded. But I was in too much pain to care too much. "You're the real hero; I don't know why everybody's making such a fuss over me. I'm not a hero, I'm just a smartass. I wouldn't have done any of that stuff if he hadn't called me a whore." I managed a crooked grin back at him, and all the cats close enough to hear my quiet voice laughed slightly.

Misto. When I felt better, I would have to get to know him.

"Allright now, that's enough." Jellylorum's wise face loomed over me. "She needs her rest. She'll never get any better if you banter to her so much."

"But I'm fine, really..."

"No buts." She looked down at me sternly. "You get some sleep. The rest of you hurry along for now."

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused, then filtered away, leaving me alone to slip back into Dreamland, where I didn't hurt quite as much. Which was nice.

--

"Is she allright, Jellylorum?"

"She's fine, Pouncival. Don't talk so loud or you'll wake her up." Jellylorum's voice sounded scolding again. "Why don't you go play with Tumblebrutus?"

"Well, I can't help it, I'm worried about her. She looks a wreck." The young tom's voice was low and anxious, as if I was going to die right in front of him.

"'M not dead," I mumbled, opening my eyes and weakly attempting to prop myself up with my arms. "Seriously, Pouncival. Go play. I'll be fine." I smiled feebly at him, but he didn't look convinced. Of course, by that point the fussy old queen was at my side demanding I lie down and get some more rest.

"I dunno, I'm all slept out," I told her playfully. "Come on, can't I at least try to get up?"

"Well..." She examined me briefly, and I noticed that the sharp pain of what might have been a few days or a few hours ago was now more of a dull ache. "Allright. I suppose. Pouncival, come over here and help me get Luvarium out of bed." She pulled the raggedy bed sheet off me, and for once I noticed I was actually lying on a collapsed coffee table, stacked with blankets and old clothes to suffice as a mattress. Good enough, I thought to myself, before, with a frailty I was unaccustomed to, I shifted on the bed and put my paws on the floor below. Pouncival took one arm and Jellylorum the other, and shakily, I managed to stand, though it hurt to put so much weight on my legs; I think I had really hurt my ankle, maybe even broken it, according to the lumpy cast I noted. Due to this, as soon as I was fully upright I briefly lost my balance and ended up slinging my arm around Pouncival's neck to keep from falling, jerking my shoulder. He grabbed me under my arms to help support me as Jellylorum gasped, a late reaction to my "near-death experience."

I didn't really notice the awkward position I was in now, but he seemed to, and I felt him grow hot under me. "You okay?" My voice was still a little slurred. "Y'feel like ya have a fever, Pouncival." I smiled weakly at him as Jellylorum pulled me up straight again, then handed me a pair of crutches made out of Y-shaped sticks, bound with...some kind of fabric or something to properly support it and to cushion my armpits when I slung my arms over them.

"Hey, Jellylorum, can Luva come play with us? Pleeease? We'll be really careful!" He looked at her with pleading brown eyes.

"No," the nursemaid said strictly. "She may watch, but Luvarium isn't in fit condition to play with you." I staggered a bit on my crutches for unintentional emphasis of her point.

"Pounce," I said at last, using the nickname I'd heard other cats give him, "Really. Don't let me stifle your fun." I smiled as kindly as I could manage. "You won't like dragging me around all day."

"Are you sure? You won't feel left out or anything?"

"I hardly have any friends yet," I reasoned. "Besides, I'll be fine. I'll probably get tired just watching you guys."

The brown and white tabby cat still didn't look convinced, but he nodded slowly. "'Kay."

My smile changed to a grin. "Awesome. Now..." My voice became low and faux-menacing. "Take me to your leader..." Pouncival and I laughed together until I started coughing and hacking like there was no tomorrow, in which Jellylorum got fussy again and we of course had to stop being so funny.

--

But anyway, a half an hour later I was seated comfortably on a pile of used car parts, watching the kittens play tag, some of my queen-kit friends squealing when they were tagged, and most kicking major furry butt when they were It. The toms, of course, showed no mercy, especially to each other, so it wasn't long before half of them were all bruised up and dusty from being thrown in the dirt so much. I was chuckling as I watched Pouncival jump his brother Tumblebrutus before I heard a voice behind me.

"Um...hello."

I turned around and smiled; Mistoffelees, still wearing a thin cloth over his chest (I could only guess it had been a shorter amount of time since our little Macavity escapade than I'd first thought, which meant I recovered quickly considering I felt like I was run over by a car the other day) to disguise his wound. "Hi," I greeted, and lightly patted an open spot on the hood of the car next to me. "So, what's up?"

"Well..." Misto shrugged, taking a seat beside me. "It's just, we sort of saved each other's lives, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to get to know you a little better." A shy smile touched his face, which made me suspicious that someone had bullied him into talking to me, so I asked him if this was so.

"Uh..." He blushed, the cheeks of his white face turning pink, stark against the black fur around it.

"Who?"

"Tugger."

"What a pedophile."

"Not really..." He shrugged lightly. "But anyway..."

"About me? There's not a lot to know." I turned my face away briefly, recalling I barely knew anything about myself to begin with.

"Whatever do you mean?" I shifted my gaze back to him. "You seem like a very deep queen."

"Deep?"

"More than meets the eye," he explained.

"Oh. Well, in that case, I guess you're deep too, Magical Mr. Mistoffelees." I winked at him. "A real iceberg."

"Thank you." He smiled.

I grinned back. "Yer welcome, I guess. So, anyway..." I looked him briefly up and down. "You don't look a whole lot older than these guys." I glanced at the young toms tackling each other and pursuing the queen-kits as Plato tagged Victoria from behind. "So why don't you play with them?"

"I guess my mind grew faster than the rest of me." He laughed dryly. "I'm a lot smaller than them, but you're right about me not being too much older...I don't know. They're not interested in the same kind of stuff I am."

"Like...?"

"Magic." He said it so casually I almost laughed.

"You mean like when you were shooting lightning out of your paws the other day? Does that count?"

He flushed. "Yeah."

"Well, damn, boy, you've got some magic skills."

"Thanks."

There was a brief silence between us.

"Wanna know a secret?" I said at last.

"What?" He looked surprised. "Okay."

"I didn't really forget some of my memories." I looked down at my feet and swung them slightly; I was smaller even than Misto, so I was certainly high enough off the ground to swing my feet. As he was about to say, "Really?" I looked up at him with a more serious expression in my sea-green eyes. "I forgot all of them."

--

Can we all say, CLIFFHANGER?! :3 You'll have to wait until next time! Reviews are loved, darlings


	5. Luvarium's Guide to Falling on Your Face

The fifth chapter of Do You Remember is here! :3 I stayed home from school today because I'm getting over a cold, so I got to work on my chapter. I'm trying to make them longer, so they may take a while.

As for reviews, thank you so much, my two reviews so far have been very kind. To music-art-dance-sailor-scout, I'm very glad you like it. And to Gracie-Lullabelle-Mae, I'll be taking that cookie you promised now. 3

Anyways, I don't own CATS. Have fun. x3

--

Misto was quiet for a moment, as if he didn't believe me.

"Like...amnesia?" he said at last, his brown eyes turned from me.

"I guess," I mumbled, looking down.

We were both silent for a little while.

"Are you mad?"

"Why should I be?" Mistoffelees finally looked at me, and his gaze told me he meant what he said.

"I don't know. I thought you would be. Because I sort of lied to everybody." I shrugged. "Thought I should tell you if you're gonna be my friend."

"What about the other queens?" asked the black tom, pulling up his legs and crossing them Indian-style on the car hood. "Will you tell them?"

"I'll probably tell everybody at some point, so then they'll know. Either way, they'll find out soon enough."

"I see."

Silence.

"You're mad, aren't you?" I hadn't raised my eyes.

"What? No!"

"Then why are you all quiet now?"

Another stomach-clenching silence.

"It's just a little..."

"Hard to believe?" I interrupted dryly. "I don't believe it too well myself. Wanna hear the whole story?" Or what there was of it.

He nodded, but didn't speak.

"There's not a lot to tell," I told him. "But here's how it happened. Basically, I woke up in a dark alleyway with one hell of a headache, without any knowledge of who I was or what I looked like or where I came from." I let a small smile grace my face for a fleeting moment. "That's all there is."

A lulling quiet again.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"That's actually very interesting." I finally looked at him to find he was looking at me, as if studying me, trying to figure out how it was I'd lost all my memories. "Do you remember anything prior to waking up in the alley? Anything at all?"

"Uh-uh."

"Think hard," he prompted.

I did. I was the quiet one now, racking my brain, trying to remember something.

And then it came to me. Eyes; gleaming green eyes, grass-colored eyes, dark and potent and swirling with anger. Eyes surrounded by darkness. And that was it. That was all.

"I remember..." I hesitated. Just thinking about that gaze made me uncomfortable.

He stared at me intently with a knowing look. How could he know I was hiding something? And yet he seemed to...was I that obvious?

"Green eyes," I said simply. I didn't go into detail and quickly shunned them from my mind, now shaken just by the imagined glare of those eyes. I felt like I was falling, falling, and my mind spun. "Green eyes..."

"Luvarium? Are you okay?"

"What...?" I looked up at him again, dizzy, his face fading in and out of focus.

"Are you okay?" Mistoffelees repeated. "You look a little...distant." He smiled kindly.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine." I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Anyway, green eyes—"

"Can we stop talking about this now?" I said quickly. I'd nearly fainted from focusing on that gaze, and I didn't want to think about it anymore.

Misto looked down. "Certainly, if it's making you uncomfortable."

Shit, he read my mind again. "A little," I admitted, not looking at him. "Anyway. I should be getting back. Jellylorum will have an epileptic fit if I'm not back soon."

"Of course." He nodded. "I know what that's like." There was the chuckle of remembrance in his voice, and I could only assume he'd been through similar trials. I smiled a little; I felt comfortable around the tuxedo cat, something unusual for me. However, as I shifted to put my paws on the ground, my mind on the idea of trusting Mistoffelees, I felt my traction fail as my foot skidded across a slippery piece of metal, causing me to fly forwards and land hard on my face...and my already-sore ribs. I screamed as I tumbled and moaned when I hit the ground, feeling my face in the dirt.

"Oh, my goodness!" Misto jumped off the hood of the car. "Are you allright?"

"Do I look allright to you?!" My voice was irritable, shot with pain. "Help me up, why don't you?"

"Oh, right...sorry." He reached down, hooked his paws under my arms and hauled me up, resting me against the car.

At this point, Pouncival and Company had heard my screeching like an angry crow and were hurrying over. "Luva! Luva! Are you okay?" shouted Electra, running over to give me a hug that caused me to yell out again as she touched my sore ribs.

"Gentle, gentle!" I half-hissed, squirming, and she drew back, apologizing. Her sad eyes immediately made me sorry for speaking so rashly, but what's done is done, so I merely responded with my usual gruff, "'S fine."

"What's all the ruckus about over here?" I heard elder voices coming from the left and rolled my eyes. Fantastic. Grown-ups to fawn over my injuries. That was exactly what I needed right now. Jellylorum got to me first, shooing away Mistoffelees and Electra as she prodded me in the torso.

"Careful!" I screeched, wrapping my arms protectively around my chest and stomach.

"I think she's broken a rib," the nursemaid observed, nodding sagely.

"Ohh, no duh," I mumbled, my voice a raspy whisper.

Pouncival stepped hesitantly forward, and his eyes were shining with real worry and apology, not just the shock of everybody else and the seeming duty of asking if I was okay. "Lu, I'm sorry. I should've been watching more carefully."

I almost laughed. "This is in no way, shape, or form your fault," I responded, eyes sparkling despite the pain in my ribs. "It was me being a Butterpaws. Ain't that right, Misto?" I looked over at the black tom, who had since withdrawn behind Jellylorum. He nodded and glanced at Pouncival, who, after the black tom looked away again, shot him a glare teeming with an angry jealousy that surprised me. Since when had Pouncival been spiteful? And what did he look so jealous of? It concerned me, really and honestly concerned me.

"Come now, my dear, let's get you back to bed." Jellylorum's motherly tone was driving me crazy; I'd heard it too much these past few days. "We can't have you trekking around getting injury on top of injury. No going out again until you're well."

There was a collective moan, mine being the loudest of them. Well. This was splendid. Now I wouldn't even see the light of day until I was completely better, and Rumpus knew how long that would take.

--

"Hey, Lu, are you up?" A brown head popped into the den, and I shifted my gaze from the enormous page of the human book I was reading to the entrance, where Electra was observing me with dark and worried eyes. As she saw me awake, she smiled. "Oh, hey. Has Jellylorum suffocated you yet?"

"Not quite." I managed my own wry smile. "Right now the only thing suffocating me is a lack of fresh air." I coughed a little for emphasis, feeling a brief surge of pain from my ribs.

"Anyway..." She scuffed her foot nervously on the floor, and immediately I sensed she wasn't telling me something. My eyes narrowed a little bit.

"What?"

"It's Pouncival." A slight giggle escaped her despite herself and she scurried over to me, her eyes now sparkling with mischief.

"What's wrong, is he hurt?" I failed to see how humorous she found this and was actually concerned for my new friend's safety.

"I think he likes you!" she whispered, and I practically fell over in half-relief and half-disdain as she burst into unrestrained, girlish laughter. Instead, I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be silly. Pouncival's just my friend."

"You saw how he looked at Misto the other day when he found out you two were talking!" Her voice was teasing.

"Misto and I are just friends, too!" I exclaimed, then covered my mouth quickly. Whoops. Too loud. "Anyways," I continued, my voice quieter, "even if Pouncival likes me, why's it matter? It's not like he's gonna avoid me or something."

"He will if you keep hanging around that Mistoffelees," Electra warned, sitting down on the coffee table next to me.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I grumbled, lifting my chin.

"It's not," she corrected hurriedly. "It's just, Misto's a little bit...different. You know."

"No, I don't know," I said coldly.

"I mean, he's a little off his rocker. You know, with all that 'magical power' stuff. I think it's driven him a little bonkers. He's too quiet." She nodded in the same sage manner as Jellylorum two days ago, as if stating a fact.

"Oh, so just because somebody's shy, that gives you a right to prosecute them?" I felt my temper flare unexpectedly.

"No, no, he's nice and everything, but he's not your type."

"My type." My statement was flat. "So this is about type now. How is Pouncival any more my 'type' than Mistoffelees?"

Electra seemed like she was at a loss for words, for once. "I didn't mean...what I meant to say was...just..." She sighed. "You might hurt Pounce's feelings. I'm speaking as his friend and yours, you know."

"Well, I'm sure it'd hurt Mistoffelees' feelings if I abandoned him because I was worried he'd make me look bad," I responded. "Ever think of that?"

"N-no," admitted Electra. There was a rare silence between us, and at last, Electra seemed to get the point that her conversation was unwanted and got to her paws. "Well, sorry to bother you. but just think about it, okay?"

"I'll get back to you," I responded, then stretched out on the table and rolled over on the clothing mattress, covering myself up with an old shirt. Sleep came swiftly, and soon, all thoughts of my conversation with Electra were gone.

--

I thought I should get a little romance in here before you guys started questioning when it'd start. x3 And I know some of you are probably going, "Poor Misto! They don't treat him that way!" But think about it. With abilities like him, don't you think he might be just a titch unpopular?


	6. Of Dreams and Tom Drama

Chapter six is here at last. :3 I'm lacking on reviews, but that's okay. I'm sure most people hate OCs. xD Of course, now I'm going to find an OC story with, like, half a million reviews. Whatever. I just like to write, but reviews are very encouraging.

The disclaimer's in Jamaica today.

By the way, I'd like to thank everybody who's added my story to their favorites. I love you guys and hope you keep reading. x3

--

That night, my sleep was fitful and uneasy. I kept waking up, seeing images of green eyes, chased through the darkness by them as their sharp gaze burned the fur on my back, running, running...it was like I couldn't go fast enough. They were always right there, right behind me.

As sharp black claws reached out of the darkness after me during one of the longer periods of sleep, I awoke with a screech that would wake the dead, sitting bolt upright, covered in sweat. My heart pounded against my chest and my head throbbed, followed by my ribs causing me sharp pain after I sat up so quickly. I flopped back down on the pillow, and Jellylorum, right on cue, skittered in, awoken by my screaming, her face looking a little panicked. "Luvarium?" she called, hurrying over. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"N-no," I reassured her. She looked so worried, and over me, at that. An outcast. A loner. I didn't even belong to the tribe. Not technically. At least, that's what I kept repeating to myself in my head, hoping it would stay true.

But there was that little fragment of me that was beginning to deny it, and that scared me. I wasn't one for commitment. What would I do if I had to live here?

It would never work.

I'd have to move on.

Eventually.

"I just...had a bad dream," I reported, not willing to call it a nightmare, even though it had chilled me through to the bone. Jellylorum looked unconvinced, but nodded.

"Tell me if you need anything. It'll be time to get up soon, so you just go back to bed and..."

"Right," I interjected. "I'll wake up on time. You'll see." I offered a faux-smile that the older queen seemed to buy for once, smiling back at me before exiting.

_Okay, so,_ I thought to myself as I lay back down on the mound of old clothes, _Pros of leaving. No more Tugger. No more Tugger fanclub._ But no more Electra. She could be annoying and everything, but I had to admit I was fond of the brown tabby.

I chased that thought away and kept listing. _No more Jellylorum, no more Pouncival and Mistoffelees drama... _But Jellylorum was actually pretty nice when she wasn't being fussy and bossy, and Pounce and Misto were my friends now.

_You don't have any friends here, _I tried to tell myself. _You've only known them for..._

_A week. Maybe. _That was a long time. Long enough to make friends.

No, I had to stop thinking that way, I barely knew these cats.

_No more Munkustrap. _Wait a sec, what was wrong with him? _No more rules. _But the world was dangerous without _some _rules.

_I'm a rebel, I don't like rules, _I told myself. Okay, so I'd found one reasonable thing. _No more curfew. No more grown-ups worrying over you like a kitten. No more drama. No more drama. No more drama._

I repeated that last one over and over again in my head. All alone, there wouldn't be any drama. No crushes, no jealousy, no nothing.

But then again...that would be kind of lonely, wouldn't it? Which turned my mind to the cons of leaving.

_You're still injured, you'd never get far. _I'd heal. _You'd be leaving behind all your friends. No more free food. No more cozy bed._ And there was always the threat of danger for a queen by herself in the streets of London_._

What was I saying? I could handle myself. But still, the list dragged on.

_No more company. No more Electra or Pouncival or Mistoffelees or any of your other new friends. Okay, _I admitted to myself I actually had friends.

_Maybe if you stay, Misto can help you get your memory back._

And what would I do with that, anyway? I was already living a lie. What would the truth do to help that?

Still, that was a tempting offer.

_And you've been wanting to get to know that queen Rumpleteazer. _Oh, yeah. Her and Mungojerrie, her brother or her best friend or whatever. They seemed my sort, but in all the hysteria I'd had in my life during the brief periods I was out of this damn bed, I'd barely seen them.

But I'd survive without getting to know the tiger-striped duo, wouldn't I? Of course I would.

I was going to point out more things to myself, but I fell asleep again before I got the chance.

--

I had a second dream, a short one; not of the eyes chasing me again, but of familiar faces swimming before me. Electra, Pouncival, Mistoffelees, Jemima, Etcetera, Victoria, Jellylorum...even Alonzo and Munkustrap. They were calling to me, telling me not to leave, trying to grab at me and pull me back as I attempted to walk away. The heartbroken eyes of my closer friends made my chest swell with sorrow.

Why was I even leaving? Why was I abandoning them? Why?

But even as I began to think of turning back, the sad faces began to morph. Anger touched their features; just a little bit at first, then a blind rage, contorting the countenances of those whom I had come to know. Even Mistoffelees glared at me in hate, (which I had previously thought impossible for the kind, if shy young tom) and soon, they had drawn up all around me in a circle, baring moonlit fangs, eyes glowing an unnatural red, a color I had subconsciously come to associate with bad things. That and green.

"Liar," they hissed. "Fiend, pretender. Leave! Leave! Leave!" And once again I was being chased, racing away from those who were once my friends.

My eyes sprung open, but my awakening was a little less dramatic this time, not involving screaming or jumping up, which I'm sure my healing ribs greatly appreciated. I rolled over and looked out the sloppy window cut in the side of the den and fitted with a broken piece of glass, watching the sun rising in the east, staining the sky rosy reds and bright golds, turning the clouds purple. I was up early. Or late. I couldn't really tell either way, considering I wasn't used to the erratic schedule of the Jellicles. I yawned, shifting a little; I felt better today, especially in my ankle, which I was now pretty sure I just sprained, considering it hardly hurt at all anymore. Looking in the broken piece of mirror on the wall, I noticed the wounds on my face were healing, though the deepest slashes looked like they were going to leave scars; the fur had barely grown back at all. The only problem now was my ribs. I just had to go and fall, didn't I? Good job, Your Royal Clumsiness.

Despite myself, I was eager to return to the den with Electra, Jemima, Etcetera, and Victoria. I was sick of this place, sick of the too-warm mattress of clothing on the coffee table, sick of being checked up on by Jellylorum every two seconds. I was sick of it. I wanted out.

Out. Out. It seemed I always had to get out of something. Couldn't I just stay put for once?

Without thinking, I slid out of bed, proud to know that I could put weight on my foot. I was a little unsteady, so I grabbed for my crutches, leaning up against the wall, and slung my arms over them, using them to hobble out of the den and into the open.

Cats were starting to appear all around, yawning and stretching in the dawn light. I spotted the TSE1 popping open to reveal a yawning Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots, the Railway Cat with one arm around his plump mate. I shuddered slightly with an unknown jealousy as a previously untouched thought blasted a hole in my mind._ I_ wanted to be cuddled like that. _I _wanted to be loved.

Wait a second, what the hell was I saying?! I shook my head briskly to clear that nasty thought, locking it away in the back of my mind. But it raged on, like a caged beast. _Love? What did I know about love?_

Exactly. I knew absolutely nothing.

Love was a stupid emotion everybody felt but didn't really need. A cat could survive without love. Right? Of course.

As I shuffled past the car hood, I caught the older couple giving me a smile.

"Good morning, dear," Jenny said. "I didn't know Jelly was letting you out so soon." Her expression was pleasant and a little sleepy.

"She's not," I replied mischievously, grinning, trying to ignore the jealousy that this gumbie cat was loved while I was not.

"G'mornin', lass!" greeted Skimble in his thick Scottish accent. I waved in response and ambled on by, making my way towards the den where my queen friends were most likely still asleep.

As I reached said den, I looked inside, scanning the room with my greenish blue eyes. Jemima was up, combing her fur in front of a mirror, surprisingly unbroken. She looked up as I entered and smiled.

"Hey, Luva. Snuck past old Jellylorum?" I nodded, and her smile grew. "Everybody else still isn't up." Her smile briefly faded, and she looked back at her brush. There was a long silence, an awkward one I longed to break – I hated silences like this – but couldn't bring myself to. "Uh..." Jemima's voice was unsure, and she looked at me with her pretty brown eyes. "Lu, can I talk to you?"

I was a little surprised. "Um. Sure," I replied, hobbling over to the bed and taking a seat beside her, pulling my crutches up next to me. "Whaddya need?"

"Well, you see, it's kinda..." She paused and sighed. I'd never seen the usually-mellow queen so distraught. "It's...Mistoffelees...I..."

I felt an unexpected jerk in my chest, short-lived. "You like him," I finished for her, fixing her under my gaze.

"Yeah," she admitted, looking down. "And...I just thought...you're turning into a real friend for him, I think. You can talk to him...I can't."

"Why not?" I queried. "He's really nice, it's not like he'd make fun of you." That sudden twinge again.

"I know," she said, he voice low and exasperated, "but I don't know what I'd say. What if I made a total fool of myself in front of him?"

"Which is why you want me to talk to him for you," I concluded again, and she looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Would you? Please?" It was hard to say no to those eyes, but something in my head urged me not to. I pushed that away in disdain and smiled at her.

"Sure I will, Jemi." I put an arm around her shoulder. "But I'm going to talk to him about talking to you, and he's a little shy himself. Just ask her." I jerked my head towards Victoria. "So you've gotta promise to try talking to him by yourself, okay? Strike up a conversation. What do you like to do?"

"Um. I like to sing. And..." She paused, a little embarrassed. "...sometimes I write poetry."

I nodded. "I bet he likes poetry. He seems like the type. Anyway, he's really interested in magic. What do you think of that?"

"Well, I think it's a kind of interesting thing, but don't tell everybody else I said that. They'd think I'm weird." She looked down again.

"Don't worry about them, okay? If they're really your friends, they'll accept you for who you are." I nodded in the same sage manner as Electra had a while ago. "Something tells me they'll still like you, 'kay?"

"Y...yeah." Jemima sighed in relief. "But you will talk to him, right? Today?"

"Of course!" I grinned, and my voice turned mischievous. "In fact, how about you and me go talk to him right now?"

"Sure – wait, you _and _me?"

"That's right! Come on, brush up, get ready!" My smile was practically splitting my face in half.

"But, wait, Luva, you said _you'd _talk to him for me!" There was fear and panic in her eyes.

"I didn't say I wouldn't bring you along." I grabbed her paw and pulled her off the bed. "C'mon. We're gonna wake everyone else up talking this loud." I stopped a moment as I got on my crutches. "Wait, is he even up this early?"

"He gets up early," Jemima reported, and I nodded, not asking how she knew that.

"And if he's not, we'll wake him up," I said decisively, and, pulling Jemima after me, exited the den as fast as I could manage on crutches, my calico companion mumbling behind me, sweating nervously. "Don't worry, Jem, you'll be fine."

--

What'll happen? :3 Will Luva really tell Misto, or will Jemima? Is this going to end up a MistoxJemima fanfic? You're gonna have to wait until chapter seven for that. ;D

This is the longest chapter yet! Over 2,000 words! And also, I know I fail at playing Jemima. Dx


	7. Of Discussions and Doubts

Chapter seven. :3 In which Misto has a visitor and Luva has doubts.

Sorry this took so long. I'm also trying to work on Railway Cat's Advice, but I want to do this Mungoteazer oneshot, so...you're gonna have to bear with me here.

--

"Hey Mistoooooooffeleeeeeees," I called, my voice naughty and excited. I spotted several cats shooting me glares at speaking so loud this early in the morning as I shuffled along with Jemima in tow, and almost stuck my tongue out. Screw them. I was a queen on a mission, a mission of love! "Where aaaaare yooooou?"

"Right here." I heard his voice sound from the pipe, his tone tired and flat. I spied his white face, framed in thick black fur, poking out of the entrance, so, Jemima still in my grasp, I dragged her over, a freaky-wide grin on my face. Misto's brown eyes seemed to register it was me, and he half-smiled, the expression twisted by the dryness of being awoken so rudely.

"Mr. Mistoffelees, you have a visitor!" I pulled Jemima roughly up beside me and smiled. "Anyway, I'm supposed to do most of the talking, so..." My voice sunk low, and now I almost sounded like a gangster, leaning over the table at an uncooperative victim as a ceiling lamp swung overhead. That would have been so awesome, but I didn't have a table to lean over or a lamp to swing. "...this is how it's gonna be."

"How what's gonna be?"

"Just listen!" My voice returned to its normal tone, which was currently a naughty-queen-demands-your-attention-so-shut-your-face-and-listen kind of quality. Mistoffelees nodded, Jemima looked panicked, and I, as always, looked evil.

I could feel the tortoiseshell straining in my grasp, so I focused most of my strength on keeping her wrist in my paw, feeling my knuckles whiten under the gray fur. However, in doing so I briefly deprived strength from my legs and almost staggered on my crutches like a drunken fool. Note the almost. But I didn't, so give me some credit here, I'm injured.

"Okay." I nodded, still with that 'I'm-gonna-eat-your-soul' grin on my face. "So! Do you know this cat, Mistoffelees?" I jerked my head at Jemima.

"Yes."

"What's her name?"

"Jemima," he responded. "Luvarium, I really don't see – "

"I'm the one asking the questions here!" I snapped. "Keep your mystical mouth shut until I finish." I knew I was being an arse, especially to a cat who was technically my friend. For some reason I was feeling incredibly mischievous today, and I didn't want to ruin it so early. "Anyways, Jemima here would love to have a little talk with you, Misto. Wouldn't a talk be nice?" My voice was expectant. "Wouldn't a talk just make your day, Misto?" I tilted my head to the side a little bit.

"Well, I suppose I could..." Mistoffelees cut himself short. "I'm not doing anything this morning, so...I guess." He offered Jemima a timid smile, and I saw the blush along her cheeks, reddening her pretty features.

"Y-y-y-yeah," stammered the young queen. "I-I'll be right in. I need to..." She looked at me, then behind her, then at Mistoffelees, then back at me and behind her again. What the hell was she looking at? "Uh..." She shifted her hand so she was grabbing my wrist and I was in her grasp (which I have to say I immediately didn't like) and jerked me over to the side, leaving Misto alone and confused in his pipe.

"Luva, I can't do this, I can't do this! How did you get me into this?" Her voice was an intensely nervous whisper. "What'll I do? What'll I say? I don't know what to – "

I stopped her, clasping a paw firmly over her mouth. "Jem. Shut up," I said shortly. "Calm down. You'll be great. Mistoffelees is the quietest tom in the junkyard, he's a fabulous listener." I would know, wouldn't I? "Now, you scurry in there and have a nice talk with our little magical friend and you come tell me about it when you're done. Understand?" She nodded, and I took my paw off her mouth, shaking it slightly out of instinct. "Good." My smile returned, cheery and bright, like I hadn't just given her the best pep talk of her life. Yes. Totally the best. I was just awesome like that. "Now, go get 'em, tiger!" I slapped her hard on the back, hard enough so I almost lost my balance again and Jemima flinched from the blow. Without another word, she scurried off towards the pipe again, leaving me alone.

Alone.

Seemed like I was alone an awful lot these days.

Shuffling back to the medical den (I didn't want to call it "my den," but I was seriously starting to get tempted to), I felt a weird lurch in my stomach again on the thought of Jemima and Mistoffelees. Like I was expecting something, or like I was nervous.

But I never got nervous, and what could I be expecting?

I shook my head briskly. "I probably just need to eat," I said aloud, trying my best to convince myself this was so, urging my stomach to rumble to convince my doubting mind.

_Or could it be something else?_

Of course not. I chased that idea away like a kitten chases birds. There was no way it was anything else but hunger, and that was that.

--

"Ooooh, sweet Everlasting Cat," I mumbled, leaning back against the wall as I finished my enormous meal. It must have been an hour since I'd sent Jemima to talk to Mistoffelees, and upon my return to my den (Wait, no, not MY den. The medic den. Not my den. So totally not my den.) I'd proceeded to gorge myself on whatever food I could find: turkey legs, mice, birds, assorted garbage from restaurants, stale bread...all of which I could find conveniently outside, just by simply doing a bit of looking. Of course, my legs weren't used to chasing mice and birds, but I figured some exercise wouldn't kill me. And what do you know, I wasn't dead, so it couldn't have been that bad.

Anyways, after my meal I felt fatter than Misto's Uncle Bustopher, so, patting my stomach, I decided I should probably start wearing off these calories through another visit. Wasn't I just the little social butterfly today. _Gag me._

As I moseyed out into the sunlight once again, my dark and ashy fur relishing in the sunlight that it hadn't seen so much in nearly a week, I spotted Jemima running towards me, a big grin on her face almost worthy of...well, me. But not quite, because I grin bigger than that.

I couldn't feel the jump in my stomach when I thought about what she'd been doing for the past hour and a half this time, which I contributed to the fact it really had just been hunger pangs, but knew my stomach was too bloated for me to tell right now either way. Still, I disregarded the idea and met her with arms as open as I could manage on crutches. She ran up to me and almost hugged me, seemed to remember my ribs were broken, then leaned forward and lightly hugged me around the shoulders. Her brown eyes gleamed with merriment, and I smiled at her, feeling doubt seep into my mind like poison, cold and spiteful.

"It was so great, Lu! You're right, he was totally nice and smart and listened to me the entire time! And get this; before I left, he said we should do it again sometime!" For some reason, I felt my heart in my feet for a moment, but masked it with an even wider smile.

"That's great, I'm so happy for you!" _I'm such a liar._ "When're you going to go see him again?" _Don't._

At that point I decided my private thoughts could take a trip to Ant-freaking-arctica, because I didn't want to hear them.

"I'm not sure. Maybe a few days from now, I want to think of what to say. I want to be more prepared next time." She beamed, then turned and trotted off. "Thanks so much, Luva!" she called over her shoulder, and I kept smiling until she disappeared behind a pile of junk; then it flew off my face like a bird.

_Why aren't I happy? I should be happy! I should be elated! _I thought to myself. _I bet I'm probably just jealous because Mistoffelees is my friend, and I want to spend more time with him._ _Yeah. _For once, I actually made sense to myself. Of course! I wanted to hang out with Misto more, so I was jealous Jemima was taking up his time.

I should just go talk to my tuxedoed friend some more and I'll be dandy. Yeah. That'd totally solve all my problems, right?

But wait, no. Mistoffelees really wasn't much of a fervent conversationalist, and he'd already chatted with Jemima recently...I didn't want to seem intrusive. I should wait.

The next name that came to my head was Electra, but I discarded that one, too; for some reason, I was a bit shaken up right now, and the last thing I needed was Electra hinting at me and Pouncival.

Pouncival.

That was it! I'd go talk to Pouncival!

Satisfied with myself, I made my way towards the den where the young toms were usually found – whether this was particularly smart or not I had yet to find out, but I doubted it was dangerous for me. After all, I'd been through a Macavity scare and lived to tell the tale, right? What could be scarier than a huge ugly-ass ginger cat bitchslapping you and calling you nasty names?

Immediately, my mind thought one word.

_Love._

And I couldn't disagree, because I knew that I would take the huge ugly-ass ginger cat over love any day. Any day at all.

Would I?


	8. Hide and Seek

Chapter eight has arrived. :3

I'm sorry I'm not updating Railway Cat's Advice, but almost nobody's read it anyway, and I'm really eager to work on this story. So, maybe if I get some more reviews on RCA, I'll work on it. Or I'll just write that chapter after I write this one. Or something.

WARNING! This chapter contains just a little unintentional OC pairing on behalf of the OC. :3

--

Rounding a mound of broken sofas, I let my eyes fall on the rocking chair behind which Pouncival made his home. Too lazy and still too injured to climb up the pile it rested atop, I simply tilted up my chin and yelled out as loud as I could manage, "Hey Pouncival! Get down here, will ya?!"

More of me being me. Don't you just love that?

I waited a few seconds before I heard a voice in response, high-pitched but still masculine; a tom-kit's voice. Pouncival. A smile flitted briefly across my face when I spotted him – he made a great show of jumping up on the chair like always and looking down at me with hazel eyes. The smile returned now when he grinned at me, my mood immediately lifted. Though I couldn't say I felt the same way for him Electra reported he did for me, he was my friend, and gosh, was he cute. In a sort of kittenish way, y'know?

"Hi," he called. "What's up?" Laughing a little, he leapt from the chair and started to run down the pile of junk, only to trip, fall, and come rolling to my feet like a tin can falling down a hill. Typically himself, his eyes glittered with cheerfulness anyway as he laughed at his own clumsiness. I couldn't help but laugh as well as he clambered to his feet and briefly dusted off his fur, standing quite a bit taller than me at full height. Then again, everyone was taller than me. I thought we'd already established that.

"I'm bored," I declared. "So I thought I'd come see you."

He looked genuinely honored.

Well, not really genuine, but that innocent kitten look he's inexplicably still got going for him (even if it's completely fake) makes it look that way. Of course, he was really just being a sarcastic little arse.

But I'm telling you. It totally worked for him. I still threw my arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing his torso as hard as I could until he gasped for breath and yelled, "Okay, okay, mercy, mercy!"

However, when I let go, I fell off my crutches like I've almost been doing for two days.

Luckily I fell on my butt, and the rest of me stayed intact like I could only wish it had last week. Pouncival laughed at me, and even though he was kidding, I lunged at him and knocked him onto his tail as well, my face playful and mock-vengeful, like a little kitten. A wide grin split his face, and he jumped at me with a growl, his green-brown eyes screaming mischief as he sent me straight onto my back. He stood triumphantly over me for a few seconds, and then he seemed to remember I was injured, as well as the compromising position he was now in, crouched over me, and he scrambled off, his face redder than a strawberry.

"What?" I demanded, scrabbling to my feet as well. He handed me my crutches, which assisted me in standing upright once again, but I still glared at him. "Scared to play-fight with a girl, Pounci?" One of my eyebrows arched.

"No!" he exclaimed in an overly defensive voice. "I was just afraid of hurting you, that's all." He turned his back to me, his face still red, and I was tempted to jump on his shoulders out of spite...before my body started almost-screaming at me for playing rough, even if only for a few seconds. "Besides, aren't you a little old to be playing with toms, Luva? People get ideas nowadays, about that kind of stuff."

"'That kind of stuff?' We were just messing around, Pounce. Besides, nobody's around, anyway." I crossed my arms at my newest friend, elbows resting on the sticks helping support me.

"Yeah, but if someone saw, then..." He was totally making excuses. He would've played with me if it wasn't for whatever he was making excuses about, I just know it. I was still young enough to play with toms! Who did he think he was?

Okay, so maybe I was a _little_ bit old to roughhouse with someone of the opposite sex. But just a little.

"I came here to hang out with you, Pouncival. What am I supposed to do no that you're too embarrassed by something nobody saw to even look me in the eyes?" My voice was cold and demanding, and I noticed a slight hunch in his shoulders as I spoke. "FYI, I saw your face and I know you're blushing, Tomato Head, so no use hiding it. Now, turn around and come over here and _tell me you're sorry_."

He turned obediently with his head ducked like a kicked puppy, and I'd noticed the blush had receded to just two rosy patches on his cheeks as he shuffled towards me. "Sorry," he muttered.

I narrowed my eyes. "Sorry for what?" I almost laughed at myself in my head; I was such an asshole.

"Sorry for pushing you over, and sorry for not playing with you because I was embarrassed, and sorry for liking—" He cut himself short and blushed a deeper shade of pink again.

"What was that last thing?" My eyebrow raised again.

"Er, nothing," he muttered. "I was gonna repeat myself."

"'Liking' doesn't sound like 'pushing' to me," I noted, looking skeptical.

"Well, I was rephrasing, but then I realized I was saying the same thing," he tried to explain, looking nervous, eyes flitting back and forth. Noticing the sweat forming on his brow, I stopped, thinking I'd tortured the brown and white patched tabby enough for now.

"Whatever." I slung my arms back over the crutches and turned to leave, dissatisfied. "Well, I almost had fun, Pounce. Maybe next time." And on that note, I began to hobble away, my tail swishing lightly through the air behind me.

I'd almost gone two yards when Pouncival called out to me. "H-hey, Luva, no fair, don't go yet!"

I stopped, looked over my shoulder. "Well, it seemed like you didn't want me around," I said airily, but I didn't start walking again. "So I started leaving. Convince me to come back, Pouncival."

"I do want to play with you," the tom began. "Just maybe that game's not the best idea. But we could play something else, I'm sure nobody would care if we, like...played hide and seek or something."

"Hide and seek?" I liked that game. Mostly because I always won.

"Yeah," he said emphatically. "Or we could play Pollicle versus Rumpus Cat. Did you ever play that game?"

"No, but it sounds fun," I admitted, though I kept my face calm and my thoughts collected.

"Or, or," Pouncival continued, "or we could gather up some other cats and play tag."

"If we play hide and seek, you have to go first," I insisted, though I was smirking now, my arms folded. "And I'm really hard to find." It was interesting how my personality worked; one second I was fighting (or rather, trying to fight) a bad guy, the next having a deep conversation about my forgotten past with Mistoffelees, or an angry gossip-resembling one with Electra, or giving a pep talk to Jemima, and now I was playing hide and seek with Pouncival. Wow. Diversity in the everyday life much?

"Count to twenty," I said.

"But shouldn't I count longer? I mean, you are on crutches –– "

"Count to twenty," I repeated firmly, already turning to shuffle off on my crutches. "Start counting, Pounce!" I called over my shoulder when I didn't see him turn around to cover his eyes and begin.

"Allright, but I'm gonna win," he teased. "You won't get far on those crutches." I frowned as he turned, covered his eyes, and began to count off numbers. "One...two..."

Sweet Everlasting Cat, he was counting so slow I'd be halfway across the junkyard before he got to ten. Still, all the better for me, so...

After a few seconds of shambling along as fast as I could manage, a plan hatched in my mind just as I spotted two good hiding places; one obvious, the other not. The first, the apparent one, was under a large red sofa, but that was quite visible, and it looked like it was pretty easy to get under, though my sticks wouldn't fit in with me. The second one was actually to the right a little bit; it was hard to see, as I actually had to take a few steps closer to notice it fully. A mound of old clothing and such piled up behind an old bureau, and beneath, in sort of a little area between the two and under the big wooden cabinet, was a little indent in the ground, small and partially covered by the bureau. If I shifted the clothes a little, it'd be almost invisible.

In the background, I heard the drone of Pouncival's slow countdown. "Eleven...twelve..."

I was starting to run short on time, so I set my plan into action. Delicately, I slipped off of my crutches and placed them at odd angles in front of the couch, as if they had been thrown down in my hurry. A makeshift silhouette was made beneath it by my shoving of a broken toaster and old plastic wastepaper basket into place, where a cat could have been. As I heeded Pouncival's reaching of fifteen by the time I was finished with this, I carefully meandered over to the sneakier hiding place, feeling unstable and vulnerable off my crutches, where I burrowed under the clothes and shifted them around so as to completely disguise my little hollow, stuffing some into it just so the bureau wouldn't fall on me.

After several more moments of (im)patient waiting beneath the rags, I noticed the sound of counting, muffled by the mound of fabric stifling everything about the outside world besides the big wooden cabinet above me, the smell of human and dirt, and the dark little hole filled with kitchen appliances and broken electronics, had stopped. I froze, quieting my breathing, straining my deep gray ears to hear Pouncival's footsteps nearing my false hiding spot. I felt exhilarated, as I always did during competitions; exhilarated at the idea of another victory for me, and I almost – almost – snickered. But that might have given me away, so I didn't.

It seemed like forever until I heard Pounce's distinct footsteps shuffling along in the dirt. (It was probably a little over five minutes, but it felt like hours.) Briefly, they stopped, as I assumed Pouncival spotted the two abandoned sticks on the ground, and then a remote evil chuckle. Perfect. He fell head over heels for it. I was such a genius.

But we already knew that, right?

Gosh, I've just been feeling positively conceited today.

"I wonder where Luvarium could be," the tomkit said, in an over-exaggeratedly loud voice. "Her crutches are right here, but maybe she's tricking me..."

The idea of Pouncival mentioning I could be fooling him with the crutches made my heart lurch. Failure was not an option. Still, it made me realize something, something I vaguely knew but had never really had a chance to see before.

Pouncival was not stupid at all.

However, he wasn't enough of a brainiac to not fall for my trap. Or was he? I shivered in anticipation, feeling prickles down my spine.

I heard shifting as I assumed the young tom crouched and looked under the couch, and then a whisper of, "Damn."

So he'd fallen for it.

I was such a freaking genius.

However, as I supposed he stood back up, I didn't hear him walk away. I remained frozen solid, unmoving, barely breathing. Had he discovered me? He couldn't have. You couldn't even see the little nook beneath the bureau anymore, with all the raggedy old clothes.

His footsteps reappeared, but coming towards me. Louder. Oh, Rumpus, had he really figured it out? I felt my breath coming in short and quiet little gasps, my heart hammering against my broken ribs (which already were not enjoying the fact I was doubled over in a space too small for a human kit to crawl into). He was in front of the bureau now, and my breathing had stopped briefly, caught in my throat.

Then...shff.

The sound of wood against wood; the opening of one of the drawers. I almost sighed in relief, didn't, found out I really needed to from holding my breath so long, shifted a little, and breathed out into a balled-up shirt, a little louder than I'd liked. And it was in that fleeting moment that light filtered in from above me, and I saw the brown-patched face staring down triumphantly at me through a tunnel in the clothing.

Pouncival grinned so wide and happily that I almost smiled, even though I fiercely hated losing.

"Found you."

--

Admit this chapter made you smile. :3 One of the longest yet!


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